The skeletal knight that he fought before reaching the Fire Platform should have been an indicator that something was wrong. At the time, Merrick thought of the skeleton as a random monster. However, as he delved beneath the drain's grate and through the sluice toward the graveyard he realized how wrong he was.
The sluice itself was dry. Whatever water had been passing through it, dried up long ago, and instead it was flooded with undead. Mostly skeletons, but there were a few zombies mixed in. Some had armor and weapons, but most were unarmed and swiped at Merrick with claw-like fingers.
Those with armor, he realized after reducing a wave of undead to ash with the help of the Vassal of Fire, were former guards. Those without… had been prisoners. The words of the Elemental came back to him, no one leaves this place.
There was no salvation from the Elemental Cage, no end to their incarceration. For a moment, Merrick thought back to the dragon-like prisoner he met. The prisoner had refused to even give Merrick his name, simply because was soon to be released. What happened at the end of their sentence?
Unfortunately, the undead gave Merrick no time to think about the prisoner's future. Another wave of skeletons and zombies rushed toward him. The sluice was turned into a hellish corridor. Wave after wave, they rushed toward him. Whether it was arcane blast, the lightning bolt, or a burst of fire empowered by his quest-related minion, Merrick felt like he was making no progress.
If it were Crudle, or if he had specialized as an Adept with the Earth element, Merrick could have formed a wall or dug into some kind of shelter. Instead, he simply had to push forth. It was not pretty and he nearly ran out of will, but Merrick eventually made it to the graveyard.
The sluice did not run directly into the graveyard. Instead, it ended in another drain that filtered out the bottom of the Elemental Cage and into the bottomless cavern that sat below it. The cavern must not have been bottomless though, because the drain was broken open and from a nearby ledge, the undead were rising.
The graveyard, as he had been thinking, did not exist. It was simply a way that his brain had rationalized what had been happening. The prisoners that died in the cage, as well as the guards, were simply discarded like trash.
Before his thoughts could go much further, the Vassal of Fire spoke up:
--As a Mage, you should be able to pull the fragment to you from here. Unless you wish to descend fully into darkness and madness.--
Merrick chuckled. He had been thinking the same thing, but it was good to hear the Mephit speak his thoughts into existence. The stardust trail that he had been following so far was now as thick as a rope and with a little effort, Merrick figured he would be able to haul the piece up now.
Similarly to how he had wrapped his fingers around it before, Merrick focused his energy and felt the line tense up against his palm. As he pulled, the undead screamed below and the line remained taught. It felt like it was stuck on something.
The next wave was making its way up the ledge, nearly ready to climb into the drain and enter the sluice. They wailed and nearly made Merrick's ears bleed. Merrick pulled again. The undead screamed louder.
The closest of the undead was a pair of skeletons about to reach out and grab his feet. Urged by their proximity, he pulled again. Merrick pulled so hard on the line that his arms started to burn. He pulled with all the might he could muster and… it came free.
The line of stardust retracted like a tape measure that had been released. A chunk of amber crystal shot through the air and Merrick barely had enough time to let go of the line that he was holding on before it crashed through his hand.
--As it turns out, you are not hopeless. One piece has been returned. Two remain.--
"And here I thought you hated me." Merrick smiled as he watched the undead that had been reaching for him fall lifeless back into the bottomless void below. He then turned back toward the drain and started walking back toward the Platforms. "Let's go, Vassy."
--I said not to call me that. --